Kosciuszko House
He left Thomas Jefferson one job. The court record says Jefferson refused it.
Listen to this place’s story in Peplos.
How the story begins
Before he left America in 1798, Tadeusz Kosciuszko signed a paper telling Thomas Jefferson to spend all his American money buying enslaved people, "from among his own, or any others," and setting them free. He had been living in this house, recovering from wounds taken fighting for Poland. Jefferson visited him here, helped him draw up the will and agreed to be executor. The money was his back pay from the American Revolution.
The rest is in the app. Peplos plays the full story when you reach the place. You can also listen ahead of time.
Visiting
301 Pine Street, at Third and Pine. The outside can be seen at any time. Inside it keeps short weekend hours, noon to 4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays (National Park Service, April 2026). Check the season with the Park Service before you go.
Sources
- Estho v. Lear, 32 U.S. 130, will text
- Kosciuszko House, National Park Service
- John H. Cocke to Ralph Randolph Gurley, 18 August 1826, Thomas Jefferson Retirement Series
- Why We Should All Regret Jefferson's Broken Promise, History News Network
- Smallest site in the National Park System, Billy Penn, May 2026
- Wills of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Wikipedia
- Chronology, Jefferson's Blood, Frontline, PBS
This text was written by AI from open sources. Found a mistake? Write to us. Support
